Tunnel-liner form



April 28, 1931- J. L.-HlLTON TUNNEL LINER FORM Filed Jan. 25. 1928 E-Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jul; WAT-n,

25, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. L. HILTON TUNNEL LINER FORM Filed Jan.

April 28 April 28, 1931. .1. L. HILTGN TUNNEL LINER FORM 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 25, 1928 INV'EN'ITOR \s aJm L. am

Patented Apr. 28, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JACK L. HILTON, OF YOUNG-STOW'N, OI-TIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE COMMERCIAL SHEARING AND STAMPING COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTQVTN, OHIO, A CQRPORATION OF OHIO TUNNEL-LINER FORM Application filed January 25, 1928. Serial No. 249,456.

This invent-ion relates to tunnel liner forms and provides a form which may be readily assembled and disassembled, may be stored in a relatively small space and provides a substantially impervious liner for the pouring of concrete in tunnel work.

Various forms of tunnel liners have been proposed, most of them involving a complicated system of bracing which materially interfered with work inside the tunnel or the conveying of materials therethrough, and some of which have employed such intricate joints that disassembly of the form after the concrete lining has set has been extremely difficult. I provide a tunnel liner form comprising frame members, which members may be assembled in the field, and a series of plates extending between the frame members and adapted for connection therewith. The plates are reinforced along their edges but have end portions which lie over the frame members, the plate reinforcement terminating short of the plate and abutting the frame members. Provision is made for securing the plates to the frame members, the arrangement preferably employed comprising clips on the plates, which clips are engaged by a cross pin extending through slots in the frame members and a wedge which is driven beneath the pin to draw the plates against the frame member.

The frame members may be made of varying sizes and most of the plates may be made of a single width. This makes the form more economical to manufacture and eliminates the necessity of the contractor storing plates of varying sizes. In use the frames are put in place and the plates are secured thereto.

Plates of standard width are employed and are placed around the form until there is no space left for a complete plate. The remaining space is filled by a key plate which is narrower than the standard plates. It is thus only necessary to keep a few key plates of varying width in size to take care of all of the conditions which arise.

The frame members are preferably channel-like in cross section with the web of the flange turned outwardly. This provides a smooth outer face against which the plate ends are drawn by the plate locking means, thus forming a substantially smooth and impervious joint.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the present preferred'embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is an end elevation of an assembled tunnel liner form; V

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof Figure 3 is a View corresponding to a portion of Figure 1 but showing a key plate of different width;

Figure 4 is a detail view of the assembled plates, showing the manner of locking them to the frame members;

Figure 5 is a section taken on the line VV of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line VTVT of F igure-5.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the assembled tunnel liner form. It comprises frames indicated generally by the reference character 2 held in spaced relation by tie-rods 4. Each frame 2 comprises segments 5.. The segments are channel-like in cross section, the web of the channel being turned outwardly so as to present a smooth face. The segments are held together by connecting members 6 arranged to he bolted in place so that the frames can be assembled in the field. The bottom segment 5 of each frame is provided with a cross piece 7 for carrying a track structure 8. The frame is braced across its center by a cross-beam 9 adapted to make field connections with gusset plates 10 on the intermediate sections 5, as shown. Each assembled frame constitutes a complete circle.

The liner plates constituting the form proper are metal sheets 11 long enough to extend from the center line of one frame to the center line of the adjacent frame. Each plate is provided with side flanges 12, which flanges terminate short of the end portions of the plates. The bodies of the plates are bent to substantially the curvature of the frames so that they lie thereagainst and give a truly cylindrical surface. The end portions 13 of the plates overlie the smooth outer faces of the frames 2 as best shown in Figure 4, while the inturned flanges 12 lie entirely between the frames. The flanges 12 are punched, as indicated at 14:, for the reception of connecting bolts 15.

Each liner plate is provided adjacent its end portions with upstanding ears 16. These ears are made by welding short sections 17 of an angle to the body of the plate. The cars are punched to receive cross pins 19 (Fig. 6).

The frames are provided with radially ex tending slots 20 and the pins 19 extend H through the slots and through the holes in the angle clips 18. A wedge 21 is driven be neath the pin 19, thus drawing the plates tightly against the frame.

When the form is being assembled, the frames are first put in place and the bottom plates are secured thereto. The plates are successively fitted until the top part of the form is reached. As above stated, standard plates are employed so that there is no necessity for the contractor to carry a large number of plate sizes in his stock. The spacing of the slots 20 is made to correspond to the width of these standard plates, any variation in circumference of the various sizes of frames employed being taken care of by key plates 22. The key plates are constructed similarly to the standard plates but are narrow and will be provided in varying widths so as to fill the varying space on different size frames. Fig. 1 shows a key plate of one width and Fig. 3 shows a somewhat wider key plate 22. In Fig. 3 the frames 2 are slightly larger in diameter than the frames 2 of Figs. 1 and 2, and it is there-fore necessary to provide a somewhat wider key plate. The key plate 22" is used to fill the space left after as much as possible of the circumference of the form has been built up from the standard plates. There is no necessity for curving th standard plates to different radii, as they are drawn snugly against the frames in any event by the wec ges 21.

Since the flanges 12 are tightly bolted to gether, and since the end portions of the key plates overlie substantially smooth frame members, there is provided an assembled form which is substantially water tight and which presents a smooth and practically unbroken face against which the concrete may be poured.

After the concrete has been poured, the form is taken down by firstdisconnecting the tie rods 4, after which the frame at one end of the form is disassembled by removing the bolts so as to break the field connection between the several frame members 5 and the reinforcing beam 10. The several parts of the frame may then be removed. The plates will remain in position due to the fact that their end portions are pinched between the concrete and the second frame 2, which is still in position. The plates are provided with handles 23 by which they may be grasped and pulled outwardly for removal.

The next section of the form is then taken down in the same way.

I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, but it will be understood that it is not limited to the form shown as it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A tunnel liner form comprising a frame member, .a plate extending over the frame member, means connected with the plate and extending rearwardly of the frame member, and wedge means engaging the last-mentioned means for drawing the plate against the frame member.

2. A tunnel liner form comprising a frame member, plates lying to either side thereof, the plates having upstanding ears, means extending between the ears and overthe frame member and means urging the last mentioned means away from the frame member so as to hold the plates in engagement therewith.

3. A tunnel liner form comprising a frame member having a slot extending normal to its surface, aplate extending over the frame member, nreans extending through the slot for making a connection with the plate, and means for engaging the last-mentioned means to draw the plate against the frame member.

4. A tunnel liner form comprising a frame member having a flange, the flange having an opening therethrough extending normal to the outer surface of the frame member, a plate overlying the outer surface and having an upstanding ear, a pin extending through the slot and engagim the ear, and means urging the pin away from the outer surface of the frame member so as to draw the plate tightly thereagainst.

5. A system of tunnel liner forms comprising curved frame members of varying radius, a plurality of curved plates adapted to be supported by a frame member, and means for drawing the curved plates against the frame member so as to cause the same to conform to the curvature of the frame member.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JACK L. HILTON. 

